Outside firm working with public on new Dublin City Schools maps
Matthew Cropper, of Cropper GIS Consulting, speaks Oct. 21, 2024, to parents about Dublin City Schools’ elementary and middle school redistricting plans.
Dublin City Schools has unveiled final versions of redistricting maps for elementary and middle schools for the 2025-26 school year following a multi-month process and feedback from hundreds of local parents.
While a public meeting Monday where the final maps were unveiled brought hundreds of attendees to the auditorium of Dublin Jerome High School, most of the seats were empty during much of the meeting and nobody spoke during the public comment period.
Dublin City Schools is growing quickly, especially in the northwestern part of the district. Bishop Elementary School is coming online next fall, which is necessitating a shift in elementary boundaries.
Superintendent John Marschhausen told the school board at the meeting that public feedback was taken into account during preparation of the maps, which were designed with longevity in mind. Still, Marschhausen said the district could need to redistrict again in 3-5 years, especially elementary schools, because of the rapid growth.
“When we look at where the growth is in our community, and we look at where our school seats are, growing districts have to continually work to achieve that required balance so that every student has a seat and that classes are balanced in those different elementary schools,” Marschhausen said.
Approximately 1,000 elementary students and 360 middle school students will be affected by the redistricting, he told The Dispatch after the meeting.
What changed from the draft options?
The overall shapes of the new elementary school boundaries are similar to the drafts presented for public feedback in October with some minor adjustments. For example, Jerome Road is mostly the boundary between the districts for Pinney and Glacier Ridge elementary schools, while the draft map had the line for Glacier Ridge extend a few blocks east of Jerome Road.
The new map for middle school boundaries also largely resembles the draft presented in October with minimal discernable differences.
An interactive map is available at croppermap.com/dublincity_OH.
What the district learned from hundreds of survey responses
A public survey on the survey garnered 630 responses. Staff reviewed each response individually — and an artificial intelligence tool identified some of the top categories of the responses.
The majority of respondents either had a neutral or somewhat favorable take on the draft maps, though 45% had an unfavorable opinion of the draft middle school options and 32% didn’t support the elementary options.
Among parents who lived in the affected elementary zones, Glacier Ridge Elementary School families had the highest rate of disapproval to the new map. That elementary school is most affected by the shifting boundaries — many students will now be going to the new Bishop Elementary.
Nearly half of the respondents lived outside the areas with redistricting elementary schools.
What the redistricting means for Dublin students
All students are required to abide by the new district boundaries — no exceptions will be allowed.
Affected families will be receiving postcards about the changes, which will be mailed over winter break, Marschhausen said.
Dublin City Schools will also be redrawing the high school boundaries starting next fall, Marschhausen said. It will be the first redistricting of high schools in approximately two decades.
